Luke Joeckel doesn’t want to be “Mental Error Guy”

Posted by Josh Alper on September 20, 2013, 11:05 AM EST

AP

When the Jaguars made Luke Joeckel the second overall pick of the draft, it meant a couple of big transitions for the offensive tackle.

He had to make a move to right tackle after playing on the left side at Texas A&M while also adapting to the step up in speed and competition that comes with moving to the NFL. The transition wasn’t made any easier when Joeckel missed some time with a hip injury this summer, but he has been well enough to take every snap through the first two games of the season.

That’s meant plenty of opportunities for Joeckel to make mistakes. Joeckel was flagged for two false starts against the Raiders in Week Two and has been beaten for a pair of sacks, mistakes that the rookie blames on the kinds of mental errors that he’s never made in the past.

“I can’t have the mental stuff,” Joeckel said, via the Florida Times Union. “Physically, I feel good and feel like I’m getting better every week. But I have to get over the mental errors and have to take more preparation time watching film and clear my mind. Clear my mind and play football. I’ve never been a Mental Error Guy but there are a lot of things going on.”

It’s just two games and there’s no reason to think that Joeckel won’t be able to clean things up once he’s more experienced with the professional game. For now, though, it’s just one more item to put on the list of problems with the Jaguars offense.

Kaz says:
Sep 20, 2013 1:14 PM
NO dog in the fight, but looks like KC made the right choice so far.
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In fairness, you cannot under rate the value of falling into the right situation. I mean, Fisher gets coached up by an Andy Reid Staff and Joeckel gets…Gus Bradley (dots denote I had to look his name up).

Joeckel never played the right side in his life before. Most LT start out on the right side, or at guard, or tight end or something and work their way up. Luke was such a natural he stepped into the position and never played anywhere else. Another factor is the team had a differant QB calling the snaps in the second game. Had to be some adjustment there. Whole team is learning a new offense on the fly and trying to play quickly.

He’s soft. He got schooled by KC. Chiefs win on the pick between him and Fisher

goatcheez says:Sep 21, 2013 10:49 AM

Uhhh… you guys do know Fisher has given up more sacks than Joeckel right? All three high picked OTs, Fisher, Joeckel and Johnson have struggled early. They’re all being asked to play a new position than they did in college and are obviously just getting used to the confusion of all the different blitzes and protections and speed of the NFL. They’ll all be fine.